Game: The Crimson Sphere
A spaceship crash in mysterious circumstances. A planet divided. A loose cannon on their last chance for redemption. And a Crimson Sphere. GMed by Holbenilord, starring Styro as Yrollius, Toothless as Shadow, and Ping as Rangon. The Crash (Styro) The ship struggles to stay on course, smoke billowing from one flaming engine, the thin aluminium hull stripping away as it meets the rushing, burning air. Fragments of metal fly out behind it. The planet is cold but the force of the crashing craft heats the air up to thousands of degrees. Grey clouds part around the descending angel, its path bucking as the antigrav flickers on and off. And then it is almost at the frozen ground, the whistle of icy winds drowned out by the roar of the falling ship, and then the impact occurs. Pieces of the spaceship shoot out in all directions as its front half crumples up totally on contact with the planet's surface. The rear detaches completely and appears to trip over the debris, falling upside-down ahead of the crater. The emergency door slides open an inch and then stops. It closes again, then attempts to re-open. Inside, a Menopteran wakes up. 1 After waking up from a dream in which my wings had fallen off and I was plummeting to the ground at a decent speed, I find that I did indeed plummet to the ground at a decent speed, although my wings are thankfully intact. I jump up, retrieve my pet Zarbi, and survey my surroundings. 2 It's cold. The wind only makes this worse; it's almost too much for you to fly in. The noise of air rushing between rocks and into crevices is loud and all-pervasive. The ice around the ship is broken and littered with debris. In the distance to the west is the watery sun setting behind a line of hills. To the east is a sheer cliff of ice. To the north is bleak openness. To the south is a glacier coming down from some large mountains. In the debris you spot a scanner. 3 I pull the scanner from the wreckage before I start moving. Anything else that looks salvageable? After that, I head west. 4 There is also a Haser. Everything else looks very beaten-up. Your Zarbi walks ahead of you, cautious and quiet. The ice here is blue and translucent. Something like a triangle-shaped membranous wing with an eye hanging from its underside flies overhead. Your scanner indicates that there are strange gravitic distortions beyond the hills. 5 In that case, I take the Haser and run to the hills keep heading west. As I walk, I glance at this peculiar ice. 6 It is just very clean, pure ice. Almost as if it had been rapidly frozen from pure water. You cannot see any objects trapped within it. Your Zarbi screeches in alarm as a small, bipedal creature with black feathers covering its body shuffles towards you. 7 I take my newly acquired Haser and shoot the thing's legs in an attempt to immobilize it. 6 MKS means I can roll two dice and pick one; I get a 5 and the Haser is 90 heat dmg. 8 It squawks, terrified, as one of its legs is burned away into ash. Falling onto the stump, it thrashes wildly on the ice, screaming in pain. 9 I look it over a bit, and then throw it to my Zarbi for it to eat. After it's finished I keep moving. 10 You take another step and notice a loose ring of the same type of creature has appeared around you. You can't see their eyes through their thick feathers. Your Zarbi gulps down a chunk and then notices them too, raising its weapon. Some of the creatures carry rocks, and others carry snowballs. 11 I ready my weapons and speak. "...Sorry?" (This is a clever experiment in order to determine if they are intelligent enough to have a language, really it is) 12 One throws a snowball that hits your Zarbi square in the mandibles. Another raises its rock in the air and steps forward, then points at the snowball-thrower and shakes its head. It looks at you and then makes some funny gestures with its flipper-arms. 13 I tentatively step forward and put away my weaponry. "Do you want me to come with you?" 14 It nods its head enthusiastically, then motions to the other creatures, which gather around it as it begins to shuffle westwards. Your Zarbi looks at you questioningly. 15 I motion for the Zarbi to keep quiet, and then begin to follow the creature-folk. 16 It keeps quiet. After a short walk, you find yourself in a quarry, where hundreds of the creatures are digging deep into solid ice. It lies just below one of the hills, and your scanner is signalling dangerous gravity distortions only a few hundred metres away. One of the creature things waddles up to you and offers you and your Zarbi spades made from bone. 17 I take the spade and point in the direction of the distortions. "What is happening over there?" 18 It begins to gesture before stopping itself. It takes a small bone from somewhere within its feathers and starts drawing on the ice; a circle, a few lines, a... pylon? A whole series of pylons. It stops drawing, puts the bone away, and then points at the quarry and pushes you gently in that direction. 19 Well I guess I should just go and dig then. So I do that. Where are the creatures moving the ice after it's been shoveled? 20 A number of the creatures, carrying buckets made from hide, are picking it up and depositing it on the hill. You dig; it is hard work and not fun at all. The creatures seem happy though. 21 While I work I take a closer look at this place. Anything that would be considered odd or unusual? Any clear purpose for all this hole-digging? 22 Other than the fact it is a quarry mining ice, there isn't much unusual around. The quarry walls provide protection from the wind and it is reasonably quiet down here. There are a number of felt tents on the far side of the pit, closer to the hill. A few creatures seem to be coming back from a scouting expedition, carrying bits of the ship in their flipper-arms. They are heading towards the biggest tent, which also has a faint light coming from within. 23 I mosey over to the ice holes nearest to the big tent as casually as I can, and try to peer inside. 24 You succeed in your sneaking. A quick peek reveals that inside lies a blue globe, glowing brightly, with several of the creatures staring into it. Also in the room are pieces of armour plating and bits of organic-looking debris. None of the creatures inside have noticed you. 25 I hover around by the tent awhile and see if anything interesting happens. 26 One of the starers comes out of the tent and notices you. It glares at you and your Zarbi for a moment and points at the spades you are carrying then at the quarry. Something like a big furry snake slithers down into the quarry from the opposite side to the hill, and snatches up one of the creatures. The others nearby panic and drop their equipment, running for the tents. 27 I whip out my death ray and zap it. Dice are 4 and 6. Probably dead. 28 The fried corpse slides down to the bottom of the pit. The creatures stop running and get back to quarrying, some nodding at you in thanks. One comes up to you and takes your spades, then points at the big tent. 29 The Escape (Toothless) You hurt, and badly. A girder is lying over your body, pinning you down against the floor- with a grunt, you throw it off and pull yourself to your feet. The ship is a wreck- one wall has been torn apart and the icy wind tears in through the gaps, depositing snow over corpses and debris. Your weapons lie where you left them, so you can easily pick them up. Also lying there is a single hibernating Drone. You can make out small, black, feathery creatures moving around outside. 1 I pick my weapons up, and if I can, wake up the Drone and order it to follow me. I step outside to take a look at the feathery creatures. 2 The Drone hovers behind you, seemingly undamaged by the crash. It follows you as you step out. As you step onto the ice the creatures stop and turn to look at you, then begin to walk over. 3 I raise my gun(s) and order them to stop and identify themselves. 4 They stop and look at you curiously. One begins gesturing with its flipper-arms rather wildly. Another takes a sharpened bone out from within its feathers. Your drone immediately aims its plasma assault gun at this individual. 5 "Can you speak? Or at least write?" 6 The leader (who had been gesturing) takes a blunter bone out and begins drawing on the ice. It draws a humanoid but insect-like creature with large wings and another creature like a large ant, then points west. 7 "Can you take me to him?" I ask. 8 It nods, but even as it does so, there is the sound of a chain of gunshots and each of the creatures is struck by a bullet, killing them all instantly. Your drone turns to face the north, where six humanoids throw off their camocloaks and stand up, sniper rifles in hand. "Hey, you!" 9 Keeping my own guns pointed at them, I walk over to them and order the drone to follow. "Who are you?" 10 "I would normally demand that you answer first, but there's more important business to attend to." He points at the others. "We are Dalek hunters. You will have noticed our bastic rifles. I want to know why your ship crashed." 11 "Honestly? I have no idea. I'm just a travelling mercenary." 12 "Huh. Never met anyone of your species before. Well there's no sense leaving you here; we have to reach the gravity wall and shut it down. Are you up for joining a suicide mission?" 13 "I was only here to make money, but it seems I don't have much choice. I assume I won't going anywhere until this gravity wall is shut down?" 14 "Three days ago, a large asteroid hit this planet's atmosphere at 20km/s. It still hasn't reached the surface, but the only reason is because of the gravity wall. Once that's gone, it will smash into the planet and destroy the entirety of its surface. We want that to happen." 15 "Wait, what? Why would you want that to happen?" 16 He narrows his eyes and leans in towards you. "You don't know much about Daleks, then?" 17 "I know that they vanished, long ago. Don't know what you expect to find, calling yourselves Dalek Hunters." 18 "Oh, they vanished. But then we heard there was one here. So we're hunting it, even as our numbers dwindle. But we think it is in the caverns under the ice and we can't get to it." 19 "Just the one? Surely you don't need to destroy the whole planet?" 20 "Haven't you heard the stories? Don't you know what Daleks can do?" He looks over towards the west. "That wall is the first layer of a Time Lord defence system. Have you heard of them?" 21 "No." 22 "It's mainly myths and legends. Some people say there are some grains of truth. The general myth is that they were a species who completely controlled time, but did not interfere with other races. They died out. But they were the most powerful civilisation to ever exist. And for them to have set up a defence system here? Why didn't they just kill whatever it was? Why were they so scared?" 23 "I don't know. So, what do we do to turn off this gravity wall?" 24 "We find the generator and we destroy it. It will probably glow and look like a crystal." 25 Found it! "So where do we start looking? Those bird things were going to lead me to someone else on the ship before you shot them." 26 "Oh. Uh, whoops. Well, they looked aggressive. We go west, that's where the gravity pylons are. Does your battlesuit have mass detectors?" 27 "Yes." 28 "That'll show you when you're close. The force will lessen as you approach. At the edge of the protected area, gravity will go completely erratic." 29 Then let's start looking. Are the Dalek Hunters coming with me? I decide to head west, in the direction the bird-thing pointed before it died. 30 They, and the Drone, are right behind you. As you walk on you come to the edge of a quarry- you can see dozens of other quarries on each side, one at the base of each hill. Hundreds of the feathered creatures are digging away inside. You could potentially sneak around without being noticed. 31 I do my best to sneak around then (unfortunately I decided against the Stealth Armour to get better resistances) while keeping an eye out for the Menopterans. 32 You don't see any of your fellow passengers in this pit, but you do see some of the creatures using bits of the ship as tools. You manage to get around without being attacked, and find yourself at the base of the hill. The gravity is slightly less here. 33 If it's possible to 'follow' a lack of gravity, I do that. 34 You come to the other side of the hill, and see the pylons. They stretch off into the distance to each side. The area they enclose is obscured by a faintly luminescent mist, and you can see the asteroid hanging in the sky up above. One of the Dalek hunters fires a shot at a pylon, which bounces off and does not even leave a scratch. The shooter then seizes up and dies right in front of you. 35 "This is Time Lord technology, then?" I assume, hoping one of the hunters knows a bit more about it. "How do we damage them?" 36 They all seem very nervous and agitated now. "We have to think outside the box. Brute force will never get us in. What's something a Dalek could never use?" 37 "Emotions?" 38 The leader starts shouting and swearing at the pylons, but nothing happens. 39 "Not exactly that kind of emotion, I wouldn't think. But Daleks don't have fingers either; could that be something to do with it?" 40 He puts out his hand and touches the pylon. Immediately, you, him, and the Drone are suddenly teleported into a white-walled room, leaving the other Dalek hunters behind. There is a door on each of the five walls. One door bears two lines; the others have a triangle, a circle, a hexagon, and a candle respectively. 41 "Any idea where we are? Or where to go?" 42 The leader turns to look at you, and smiles. "Now that we're alone, do you recognise me?" 43 ? "Whether or not there are others around doesn't affect my likeliness to recognise you, and no, I don't." 44 "I don't believe you." He shoves his rifle into your face. "Tell them I sent you." 45 "Tell who you sent me where? I don't even know who you are." 46 "Stalling for time, huh? I'm not going to be one of those guys who lets you keep talking until you've pulled your knife out. You're going to die now!" 47 "I don't carry a knife, only some large plasma guns that probably don't work good short range. But as I have little choice..." I draw my Psychopath Plasma Lance, and if I have time to shoot it this turn, I do, rolling a 4. 48 The plasma beam goes straight through his head and torso, leaving only his charred legs. The Drone beeps quietly. 49 I try opening the door with the circle on it. 50 It slides open easily, revealing a long corridor. You can hear the sound of heavy breathing. 51 Where (roughly) is the sound coming from? 52 You can't tell; all around you, seemingly. You feel dizzy. 53 I walk down the long corridor behind the circle door. 54 As you walk, you begin to see flashes of light in your vision and the floor lurches randomly. You want to throw up. The sound of heavy breathing grows louder and closer. 55 This can't be good. I look for the source of the breathing. 56 You see dark shapes appearing in the walls, and you feel like you are being stared at from all directions. Circular patterns appear in your vision. You feel like giggling. 57 Giggling seems unlike a shark mercenary called Shadow. Not that I have any other ideas... 58 Your Drone explodes up above you. Something grabs you arm and begins to drag you along towards the end of the corridor. You can barely see or co-ordinate yourself. 59 Then I allow myself to be dragged. 60 You are pulled into another room. The sounds and visions begin to fade, and you are able to pull yourself to your feet. A cloaked figure squats beside you; their cloak is black with red patterns over it. "Feeling better now?" 61 "Yes. Thank you... Who are you?" 62 "A friend, but also someone with a substantial interest in making sure you do not shut down this facility. I would teleport you out but that system has failed." 63 "I'm not interested in destroying the planet either, if that's what you mean. I'm starting to think that supposed 'Dalek hunter' was completely crazy." 64 "Dalek hunter? How did they know?" The figure straightens up. "Eh, what does it matter. The facility is being systematically taken apart from the inside out. The priority is to stop him." 65 "Stop who?" 66 "The prisoner, of course!" They pull out a Particle Gun from their cloak and hand it to you. Their hand is tattooed with Gallifreyan runes. "You have to stop him." 67 "What prisoner? I'll do the job, but I need to know what I'm looking for." 68 "I can't just tell you that, it'd jinx it. Just keep walking through the corridors, preferably without setting off the traps, and you will come to the Labyrinth. He'll be inside." 69 "There are traps, now, as well? What sort of traps, and how do I not set them off?" 70 "Oh, the standard. Sentry chronologies, psychedelic aerosols, time-wolves, you know. You avoid them by not looking like a threat, and by carrying one of these." They hand you a stone bearing a Gallifreyan seal. 71 So I'm supposed to not look a threat, having just been given a Particle Gun? I walk off down a corridor, I guess. 72 (Even a particle gun is not much of a threat to '''Time Lord ScienceTM'!)'' As you walk down the corridor, you reach a fork. Left or right? Left smells of rosemary and the right smells of coriander. 73 Very true. I take the right path. 74 There are paintings hung up on the walls. They depict various mathematical fractals and equations. You reach the end and find yourself in a small room with a tree at its centre. There is a door to the left, one to the right, and one in the centre. 75 I climb up the tree. I take the left door. 76 A fuzzy black quadrupedal shape prowls past you as you go through into a new corridor. This one has glass cases full of stone age weaponry along the walls, and a large spider's web covering the exit. 77 Let's loot some Stone Age weaponry! I brush away the spiderweb and continue. 78 Silk threads stick to you and flap about in the air. As you step through the exit, gravity suddenly changes and what would have been the right-hand wall is now the floor. The suits of armour in the room seem to be operating under gravity that pulls them towards what would have been the left-hand wall, though. 79 The Rescue (Pinguinus) The Shadow Proclamation orbital insertion capsule smashes into the ice, sending white fluff shooting up in a cloud around you. The door swings open, and you feel harsh, freezing wind on your body. You can see a number of hills up ahead, as well as a deep quarry with small, black, feathery creatures shuffling around within. 1 I do a preliminary check on the planet's major features: I hop a little bit to determine gravity, and I wave my cupped hands through the air to determine atmospheric density. 2 Everything seems tolerable; 0.9g gravity, 1.1atm atmospheric pressure at this level. Humidity is low due to the cold temperature. One of the feathery creatures has noticed you and is waddling over. 3 I slowly walk over to it. 4 It waves its flipper-arms around and then takes a small bone from its feathers and begins drawing on the ice. It creates a picture of a humanoid with a shark-like head and then points beyond the hills. 5 "Thank you." I smile, or give the Saturnynian equivalent thereof. I use one of my claws to draw a Menopteran as well. 6 It shakes its head and waddles off, before being suddenly grabbed by something like a furry snake that has burst out from the ice. It screeches as it is eaten right in front of you. The snake then turns to look at you. 7 I fire my steam rifle at it, rolling a (1, 3, 5). I choose the 5, which is a hit. Since steam rifles have two shots per turn, I fire again, rolling (1, 4, 4). All misses. 8 The snake hisses in pain and dives back into the ice, re-emerging behind you and biting you for 20 (sla) damage; 16 after armour. 9 I fire once more... after rolling thrice and choosing, a 6 both times. Two hits! 10 It dies rather messily and stops moving. A number of the feathery creatures are standing about thirty metres away, watching. 11 I ignore them, and head into the hills where my sources indicate the Selachian may be. 12 As you reach the base of the hill, you spy four humanoids with rifles waving at you. 13 Category:Games Category:Doctor Who Expansion